Muslim Beliefs 14 – Books Of Allah

In the Name of Allah the benevolent the Merciful, the creator and the Sustainer of the universe, I greet you with the greetings of all the prophets from Abraham to Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. The greetings of peace, assalamu Aleikum, which means peace be upon you. I'm Hammad Rashid, your host in today's program, where we'll be concluding our fourth series with our 14th program in Muslim beliefs. Our program today we'll look at belief in the books of Allah. I have with me again on today's program, Dr. Jamal Badawi of St. Mary's University. Welcome to the program, about the demo. In a number of our earlier programs, I believe that I heard you mentioned or at

least imply that Muslims believe in all of the genuine prophets and messengers of God who were sent before Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. I'm wondering if perhaps you could explain the relationship between this belief and the belief in God's holy books. Okay, it's actually a derived belief. In other words, if the Muslim believes according to the directions of the Quran, in all the prophets and messengers that were sent throughout history, from Adam to Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad peace be upon them on then it follows from that logically, that a Muslim must also believe in the original holy scriptures, or divine revelations or books given to those profits.

So it's just the logical consequence of believing in those profits. It is not only just a logical consequence, it is a duty on the Muslim actually regarded as one of the six pillars of faith that one is required to believe in as a Muslim.

The Quran indicates very clearly, that the message or the essential message or mission of all of those prophets has been nothing but one, regardless of the differences in small details here and there. For example, one verse in the Quran says,

that we have not sent any messengers in the past or prophet, except that we reveal unto him that God reveals unto him, that there is no deity but me. That's God, so worship me alone. So in that sense, then we could say that as profits taught the same thing, the Holy Scriptures throughout history, in their original pristine form, has taught nothing but this essential call on humanity to worship the one God. And in that sense, we can say that this is a message of Islam because the word Islam means submission to the will of God or worshipping.

And you mentioned that the This was one of the pillars of belief, I wondering if there's anything explicit in the Quran itself, which requires that the Muslim I believe in the Holy Books reveal to previous prophets before Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon? Oh, yeah, certainly. And that's why I mentioned earlier that this is one of the six required pillars of faith, like believing in God, the angels of God, the prophets, books of God, believing in the Day of Judgment, believe in the color that we described in the previous program. But let me give not only the Quran, actually, there are also some sayings of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Like the famous saying, When

Angel Gabrielle came to him in a form of a human being and asked him so many questions, and one of those questions, what is a man of faith? And he said that faith is to believe in God, His books, His Messenger, so the books were mentioned there, as one of those pillars of faith. But the Quran has been very explicit, if, if you will, I could give you you know, two or three quotations from the Quran that

clarify that. For example, in the second chapter of the Quran, in verse four in particular, it describes the believers as those who believe in the revelation sent to you, that is to you, or Mohammed, and the revelation sent before your time, like holy scriptures, to previous prophets, and in their hearts, they have the assurance of the hereafter.

So this is one

explicit mention of that

we find the Quran also

ties between believing in God, believing in the messengers of God believing in the angels of God, and the books revealed by God all in one single verse. This is widely quoted the verse in the second chapter also the Quran, verse 285, that's towards the very end. And it says, the apostle, the apostle here refers to Prophet, Muhammad, peace be upon him. The Apostle believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, as do the persons of faith. Each one of them believes in God is engines, his books, and his apostles are messengers, we make no distinction. They say, between one and another of his apostles, no fanatical distinction between messenger they are all brothers. And

they say, that is the believers, we hear, and we obey, we seek your forgiveness, our Lord, and to you or to thee, is the end of all journeys. So then it's part and parcel of the other articles of faith. And not only this, if I may add one more, in fact, the Quran

more explicitly even direct Muslims and indicate it is an obligation on them to believe in the origin and versions of this divine revelation. This appears in the same chapter two, verse 136. It says, say you that say you are Muslim, we believe in God, or Allah, and the revelation given to us, that is the Quran. And two are the revelation given to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the tribes are the Israelite prophets. And that's given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to all profits from their Lord, we make no difference between one and another of them. And we bow to God in surrender, or submission. That's it the same way as Islam, without God in Islam or in submission to

his wealth. So in that sense, then the evidence is quite enthroned in the Quran that this is part and parcel of believing in God, and believing in the prophets of God, because these are the books that God has given to those messengers or prophets. Those the Quran, name any of the holy books that were revealed before the by name specifically,

yes, there are, but we should not take that as the exclusive dimensioned of scriptures. There are four scriptures that has been specifically mentioned in the Quran, by name. And this includes first describes, of Abraham,

the Psalms of David, the Torah given to Moses, and the evangel, or gospel, or ngl, as it appears in Arabic given to Prophet Jesus peace be upon it. These are the four of course in addition to the last revelation, and that is the Quran. But this previous four has been explicitly mentioned, just for reference in case anyone wishes to make further assertion that the scrolls of Abraham are mentioned in chapter 87, verse 19, and also in chapter 53, verse 37.

That's one. Of course we don't know where the scrolls of Abraham ended, but I mentioned that they have been scrubbed, given to him.

There's also mentioned of the Psalms of David. Secondly, as I mentioned before, and this appears, for example, in chapter 17, verse 55, it also appears in chapter four, verse 163,

victora given to Moses is mentioned in the Quran also, and described as providing guidance and light.

It's praised as originally in their original form, giving guidance and light. This we find in chapter five, verse 47, we find it also in chapter six, verse 91, in the Quran, and the first obviously, prior to the Quran is the evangel, or gospel given to Prophet Jesus peace be upon him. We discussed that in some detail in a previous program, when you talk about Jesus peace be upon him in the Quran.

That appears in chapter five, verse four. So in a sense, then you can say that the Quran acknowledge previous revelations but this for our particular dimension, just to give you a sample since I only give verse numbers just to give a sample of one quotation in chapter three, verse three in the Quran,

or to start from the beginning, from one to three. It says, I mean, God, there is no God.

But he delivering the self subsisting eternal. And then what is this? Firstly, it is he, that's God, who sent down to the arm hammered step by step into the book, that is the Quran confirming what went before it, that is other scriptures. And he sent down the law of Moses or the Torah, and the gospel of Jesus before that, or before that's before the Quran as a guide to mankind, and he sent down the criterion that is the criterion between right and wrong, and that is to the Muslim is the Quran because one of the names of the Quran that it is the criterion to distinguish between right and wrong. So even in the very same verse in the Quran,

there is mentioned of three of the major scriptures or holy books, the law of Moses or the Torah, the gospel of Jesus and what I'm giving to the final prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. So these four are explicitly mentioned. What about the case of the other scriptures other than the four that we've just discussed that are named in the Quran? Are they accepted or recognized or are they rejected from a Muslim or Islamic perspective? Well, the fact that they are not that not all other holy books are mentioned explicitly by name does not necessarily mean that these are the only scriptures given in the ground. You can

somehow get this notion by referring to the Quran in chapter two also in verse 213. Notice here it says, kind of meta wahida Tabatha loving the vino but she didn't own anything. And that's mankind was one single nation.

And God sent messengers with glad tidings and warnings. And with them he sent the book, in truth, to judge between people in matters were in the desert. So notice here the verse uses in plural that God has sent messengers and profit strategist and say with those brevity, send the book or books. The book here means just the nature of the revelation that not necessarily one book, but several books. So it is implied from that verse Then that it's not only the four that's mentioned, but many other messengers and prophets must have also received revelations or scriptures.

When you refer also to the Quran, in chapter five, verse 51, it talks also about God sending books before the Quran, again, in the plural without specifying the particular four scriptures that has been mentioned. So the word keytab, or book, at times is used not just in the singular, but also in the plural. So when you say prophets received the book, that means not one book, but they have been also several revelation that the Prophet received. And of course, as we mentioned before, in the second series, if you recall on Prophethood,

that the Quran indicate that in every nation everywhere in the world, in different points of time, they have been messengers and prophets. And obviously, if there were messengers, too many messengers, then it must have been also several revelations, you have.

Now, this belief,

by Muslims in the previous scriptures, does this mean that the present versions of these books

are accepted by Muslims as they are without reservation that all of the

box of a match I know several times you stressed original, right? Yeah, I think I use that, hopefully with justification. Because as the Prophet, Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, was asked once, as to what, what the Muslim really should do, or how they should approach the scriptures prior to the Quran, at least the available versions at that time,

that he said that one cannot accept it fully, nor reject it fully. This is a method that one has to be fair minded. But critically, I mean, you have to be critical and honest in terms of

demanding clear evidence that descriptions represent the exact word of God, but one cannot be so biased also as to reject things in total, there's criteria for that.

What the Quran really is referring to, as an obligation on the Muslim to believe is the origin. That is the original and complete version of those holy books that were given to previous prophets prior to Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Now, it is very well known historically, that many of those past civilizations were either totally lost, like for example, the Quran mentioned about the scrolls of Abraham. This is something we don't have

Find in the original form or contrast, clearly, as a complete type of Revelation.

So some were lost even other books that came later on.

There might have been some portions also that has not

had the chance to survive the time. It is also known historically that many of the followers of previous prophets has been persecuted.

And their books were destroyed and burned. And many times the followers of those prophets catch with good intention even try to recollect as much as they could have what those messengers of God has taught in the past. But the problem is that many times, it was not quite clear as to what were the exact words mentioned, or stated by those prophets, as divine revelation, Visa V, the particular theological or philosophical interpretation by the followers. And as I said before, even if we assume that the disciples or followers would try to maintain or keep record of whatever they could recollect of those scriptures, even with that with intention, human beings are not beyond error.

Only the prophets, as we mentioned before, are protected from error, because it's God's revelation, and he wants to protect it. So as far as it's communicated by the prophet, it has to be correct. But what happens to it later on the possibility of keeping it intact without any change without any loss? It's something that was beyond the ability of people because of partly persecution and partly also mixing, personal interpretation.

In addition to this,

the we find evidence not only historically, but even in the text of the previous scriptures, which give us a clear evidence that the word of God is mixed with the interpretation of men.

For example, it has been widely held that the first five books in the Old Testament in the Bible are called the books of Moses, or the constituting the the Torah, you know, the book of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, the numbers and the book of Deuteronomy.

Now to the Muslim, the Torah, is something that could possibly have been slightly different from these five books. Because according to Muslims, and according to some extent, also to some statements in the Bible, the Torah was given to Moses were non Sinai, so it was given to Moses, Prophet Moses, peace be upon him during his lifetime, on Mount Sinai complete, okay? Now, when you read in the book of Deuteronomy, for example, in chapter 34, verse five, it says there that Moses the man of God died, in such and such length and under smart, I think it was. Now you cannot say that this particular verse was part of the original Torah that was given to Moses on Mount Sinai,

because it would not talk about the death of Moses. So it's obvious not only this verse, actually most of the 34th chapter, in the book of Deuteronomy, which is the fifth book of Moses,

and even in the first for, in the sorry, in the firt, in the one in four out of the five books of the Torah, other than the Genesis, if you look into the Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, in all of these books, it is obvious that there is talk there about about Moses, description or biography about Prophet Moses peace be upon him. This is a clear evidence that the five books are not really the Torah that the Quran is talking about, but possibly part of the Torah, which is some of the instructions or teachings or codes of law, alongside with interpretation of people and their own description or biography of the life of the Prophet Moses piece. So in that sense, then we

cannot say that these are exactly are identical to the original revelation

of the karma that you've just made in this regard, I think probably are things that are seldom noted by many people who who read the scriptures. I'm wondering if there's anything explicitly or any evidence explicit from the Quran itself to the effect that the revelations which preceded it,

or those scriptures which came before the crown, if they didn't, if they had been offered or did not remain in tact is taught by their respective prophets? Is there anything in the Quran supposedly was mentioned this reps, right. And there are there are several differences to that in the Quran. The gist of it, just given the time that we have left, that some were totally lost. There are so many prophets, perhaps even prayers to Abraham, even Noah was a prophet but there's no trace.

That you can find today have any of scriptures for example given to him.

So some were totally lost to time.

Some were forgotten. Natural, the Quran uses the term natural Hudson that's forgot part of this by the followers, especially in cases where people depended on memory, try to recollect as much as they could, or when the revelations was written down many years after the death of its Prophet, and we know that this is always a problem in past scriptures.

There's also to be truthful. I mentioned in the Quran also that in some cases, there were certain portions that were concealed

of the Scriptures, that for whatever motives, some people might have

been tempted to do this. And some were altered. Whether with good intention or bad intention, even if you assume the best good intention to alter the Word of God and mix it with our own words, might mix the clear truth of God with human interpretation which could be right and could be also wrong.

Just to give you a reference to that, in case any wish, but he wishes to explore on that in the Quran in chapter two, verse 75, as mentioned to that,

in chapter four, verse 46, about forgetting, it's mentioned in chapter five, verse 14,

about concealment, even on the part of some, it's mentioned in chapter six, verse 91, just to give you one sample, or one

example of what the Quran puts in very

clear terms, in chapter five, and the Quran in verses 16 and 17.

Addressing the people of the book, it says, All people have the book, there has come to you, our apostle, that is Muhammad, peace be upon him, revealing to you much that you used to hide in the book, and passing over much that is now unnecessary. So there is mentioned that certain things were maybe to tie that with one of the series that we discussed before, I think it was the third series Mohammed in the Bible.

We have indicated that even in the prison version of the Bible, there are so many clear signs about the Advent in the future of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him which was fulfilled with his coming. But do you notice also that we mentioned in the Quran, the Quran asserts that there were even more clear prophecies mentioning him by name.

And we caught it. For example, in chapter 61, verse six Prophet Jesus peace be upon mentioning about Prophet Mohammed by name. The Quran asserts that the people of the Old Testament knew also the advent of the so called that Prophet, other than Jesus peace be upon him other than john the baptist, we discuss that in detail in this sessions. So on the basis of that, then it's obvious at least from the Muslim point of view, that there have been some portions that might have not necessarily been preserved intact. But as I said before, we have to be also fair minded on this, as the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him thought that this is no justification for the Muslim to say,

I reject previous holy books in total, that I wouldn't look at any word of it. That's also a little bit too biased. But the Quran provide

a solution or reconciliation for beings the last revelation of God which has been scrupulously preserved in its original form, not mixed by even the words of Muhammad when he was not receiving revelation. The Quran is taken by the Muslim as the criteria, the latest most up to date, the most correct and preserved scripture.

And that's why the plan is called the criterion, the criterion that distinguish between right and wrong original revelation and people's own interpretation which might have been erroneous.

One crucial verse in the Quran, just to justify that or give you the evidence from

Ephesians chapter five, verse 51.

It mentioned the Quran there in this terms, to the that is to the Talmud, we sent the Scripture, the Quran, in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety. See, there are two crucial words here

confirming past scriptures and guarding it in safety, confirming in a sense of accepting whatever verses or passages in previous scriptures the Bible or otherwise, which are consistent with the Quran. So whatever the Quran confirms of this

The Scriptures the Muslim must accept. I think I might have given an example in a previous program like if the Muslim reads in the Old Testament that our God is one God, and read in the words of Jesus peace be upon him repeating the same statement. And then we read the Quran confirming the sense that there is no reason for the Muslims to be to reject or have any qualms with this. So that's the meaning of confirmation. But also it says very clearly and guarding it or skipping it.

safeguarding this scriptures, in a sense of correcting any misinterpretation that people might have fallen into by being influenced by philosophy or contemporary thought in their own times, so that the pure and pristine revelation of God could be distinguished from additions. Indeed, if I may add, I don't know if you have time to add one more citation to this. Yes, please wait for five minutes, I think left in the program. Okay. There's one statement also in the Quran that shows that the Quran actually was sent with the explicit purpose of resolving conflict. It's not just like some people think competition or saying that this is false. This is right, but also to resolve the conflict that

might have arisen between people because of this confusion about the interpretation of the Scriptures. For example, in chapter 16, in verse 64, it says, woman in zen, not a cookie turba in early today, you know, the homeowner, the fella foofy, Metallica, that is, and we sent down the book to you on 100 for the express purpose, that you should make clear to them, those things in which they definitely like the personality of Jesus peace be upon him difference between Jews and Christians or between different sects, even in Christianity,

and that it should be that's the Quran, a guide and mercy to those who believe. So there is a criteria for that one cannot accept or reject in total, but rather take the Quran as the final criteria, the final word of God to distinguish between the

original revelation and other additions or changes. Unfortunately, we only have a couple minutes left on today's program. I want to turn now to the Quran

recognizing the perhaps the question when asked you but it could be a program in and of itself, but I think many viewers may raise the question. Well, what about the Quran itself? Is there any evidence? How do we know that the Quran has remained intact? And it's exactly the book is what was revealed to Prophet Muhammad peace be upon? I think it's a fair question. And if you were to apply this honest scrutiny, we have to apply to all scriptures. In the Quran, you find both internal and external evidence. And tenant evidence, for example, appears as an example in chapter 15, verse nine, which says that indeed we have revealed this book God says, and we are taking care of

preserving it in chapter 41, verses 41 and 42. There's a statement also to similar effect, but that's not enough. Anyone can produce from any scripture similar type of sickness. But in the case of the Quran, we find that there are plenty of historical and ration evidence or external evidence that shows that the plan was preserved. First of all, the Quran was written down directly from the mouth of the Prophet, Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him in full, and it's original language in the lifetime of the Prophet. In fact, until today, there are places in the world like in Tashkent in the museum and Istanbul, Turkey. There are copies of the Quran that dates back to a few years after the

death of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. And this in turn, were copied from the original manuscript written down under the supervision of the prophet in the original language, which is quite unique in the history of scriptures. But like you said, this is a very big subject, I just give a very quick indication of this. But perhaps in future maybe one of our future series we come back and get to do a series on the font itself. we've exhausted our time for today. I want to invite all the viewers of the Islamic focus program back next week when we will begin our new series, our fifth series, and we'll be talking about the five pillars of Islam. Thank you for watching Islam and

focus Assalamu alaikum peace be unto you